Alucard Discovers Anime
by Metropolis Kid
Summary: While bored one night, Alucard seeks out the company of his fledgling. He finds her in the mansion's main living area, watching an anime episode, and she talks him into giving the show a shot. Hints of AlucardxSeras, but nothing really overt... One-shot


**Alucard Discovers Anime**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any material contained within this story. All copyrighted content remains the property of the person, people, or organization that holds the copyright. This story is solely for fun.

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Being a creature with a past and present mired in blood and death, Alucard lived a life of excitement... except for when he didn't. Every now and again there would be a stretch of time when the undead were so close to the verge of extinction that there were simply no targets left for the No-Life King to slaughter. His previous masters had had a very logical, practical way to deal with such situations. They simply sealed him up until the next time they had need of him, and there – locked in that state of near death where time became virtually meaningless – Alucard would wait until he was once more granted the opportunity to maim and slaughter.

However, with his current master, things were different. Integra had been relying on her pet vampire's council since she was thirteen, though she herself was far too proud to ever admit to such a thing. But Alucard guessed that was why she was keeping him around, despite the fact that his services as Hellsing's go to 'trash man' weren't currently required. But then, to be fair to the lady knight's self sufficiency, the fact that Alucard had a fledgling now may have had something to do with her decision as well. After all someone had to teach the Police Girl how to be a proper vampire, especially with all that inane dribble spilling over from 'across the pond'.

But whatever the reason, reliance on his council or a simple desire to avoid the potential embarrassment of having a pet vampire who was trying to learn how to sparkle in the sunlight (the very idea), Integra was keeping Alucard around during this supernatural lull. And though the ancient vampire did occasionally enjoy the extra free time this gave him, for the most part, he was just terribly bored.

Perhaps that was why – while sitting on the thrown of his past, long gone kingdom, in the dead of night as the clock chimed thrice – the ancient master of death closed the Stephen King novel he'd been rereading for the second time, took a final sip from his wine glass and then headed off in search of his fledgling. It was something he seldom did. After all, in the strictest sense such a thing was not exactly proper.

He was her sire. She should come to him: for guidance; advice... or whatever other needs she might have had that would require his years of experience. Or, he could go to her if her life was being threatened or she'd started to stray from the path of the true vampire. These things were all acceptable in their relationship as master and fledgling. But for him to seek her out – and for no reason other than the fact he'd grown bored and desired her company? Well, such a thing would've been cause for scandal back when he'd ruled over a large portion of the vampire underworld. Masters did not seek out fledglings; it simply wasn't done.

But then he'd never been the type to let the rules of conduct or etiquette keep him from something he truly desired. And right then and there, Alucard desired nothing more than something to break up the dull, grey, Doldrums his (un)life had descended into. And more often than not – the five century old male had long ago discovered – the best cure for boredom was the company of an attractive female. And so, Alucard sought out his fledgling.

He found her in the main room, sitting on the couch, in front of Integra's – often neglected – wide screen television. Truth be told, Alucard wasn't even sure why his master had bought the thing. He'd only seen her use it twice, once for an American movie called Patton... and then again as a means of punishing him by ordering him to watch an entire DVD's worth of the "Duckula" cartoon series.

The monster shivered at the memory. His master could be so creatively cruel at times – a trait he actually admired. She hadn't even watched the series with him. Just inserted a DVD into the base of the unit and ordered one of her men to stand guard inside the room and report back to her if Alucard left before the DVD finished its run.

But other than those two instances, Integra seemed to have little interest in the television, which had cost her over a thousand pounds. And it had instead fallen into the use of various others. Pip's Wild Geese often watched their sporting events on it. Walter, occasionally, used it for training videos and demonstration purposes. And, apparently, Seras used it to watch cartoons.

And Alucard found this last revelation strange. Why would a nineteen year old woman – never mind a former cop – be watching such childish things? "Are you being punished?" Alucard suddenly asked, startling his fledgling who had not yet learned enough control over her sixth sense to keep it constantly active.

Seras jumped before turning her head around to look over the back of the couch. "Oh, Master, it's just you."

"Just me?" he asked in a slightly offended tone, and Seras couldn't tell if that tone was genuine or not. "So, tell me, what did the 'good girl' vampire do that was deserving of a punishment from our master?" the ancient vampire continued before his fledgling had a chance to respond to his earlier comment.

"What do you mean? I'm not being punished?"

"Oh? Then why are you watching cartoons?"

Now it was Seras's turn to take mild offense. "I... I'm not watching 'cartoons'. This is Japanese anime."

"What?" Alucard asked. "What's anime?"

"Well," Seras's brow furled as she tried to think of a way to explain it, "it's... uh, kinda like cartoons for adults. No, that isn't quite right. I mean it's nothing like Family Guy or Futurama or anything. It's... Well, it's... anime. I really don't know how else to describe it. The story lines can be every bit as good and well thought out as those found in a regular TV series. … The producers just chose to tell the tale through animation instead of live action."

"Why?"

"Well, I'd imagine it's cheaper for one. Other than that, I couldn't tell you."

"And you... enjoy these 'anime'... things?" Alucard asked as he cast a look up at the two, giant dueling mechs on the screen.

"Well it sort of depends on the anime. A lot of them are just carbon copies of each other and fall into the category of 'seen one, seen 'em all'."

"And this one?"

"GunxSword? Er, so far it's pretty good. Characters are interesting enough, and the series manages a nice mix of action, drama and comedy... without being _too_ preachy. But I'm only halfway through, and with animes its really hard to know for sure until you reach the end and see how everything ties together."

Just then one of the mech 'pilots' a large, powerfully built man with a thin, neatly trimmed beard started talking about how the original seven were going to make the world a better place and he was fighting for a Utopia. This made Alucard raise an eyebrow at his fledgling who'd claimed the show wasn't 'too preachy'. But then the comment was subsequently lampooned as the other pilot replied, "A Utopia, huh? What the Hell do I care?!" and then simply charged the other mech.

Alucard let out a little chuckle. "Who's that?"

"Oh, that's Van. He's the hero... sort of. More of an anti-hero really. He doesn't feel much empathy for the plights of others and couldn't care less about the general state of the world. But the Claw killed his bride, and now he wants nothing more than to kill the man who took her away from him."

"And the man he's fighting is this 'Claw' person?"

"No. That's Gadved. He's one of the Claw's leftenants... and an old friend of Van's incidentally."

"Ah. So, the hero's driven by nothing more than a desire for revenge?"

"Well, occasionally he'll help someone out... but only if it doesn't interfere with his quest for vengeance. That always comes first."

"Interesting," Alucard commented thoughtfully and then walked around and sat down on the left side of his fledgling.

"You're... going to watch it with me?" She asked, sounding surprised.

Alucard responded with a non-committal sort of grunt. "We'll see."

Seras reached over to her right and grabbed a bowl. "Cherry tomato?" she asked as she held it out to her master.

He smirked. "Trying to stave off your next feeding? You know those things will only work for a short time."

"It's less about staving of my need for blood, and more about being able to eat _some_ kind of human food," Seras replied somewhat haughtily.

Alucard wondered about the truth of her statement, however. Their kind could eat any sort of raw fruit, and he found it a little suspicious that his fledgling had opted for tomatoes – one of only two fruits from which their bodies could still extract some meager nutrients.

Still, it didn't really matter. As he'd said she couldn't subsist wholly on tomatoes for very long. She'd return to the blood packets on her own soon enough.

The bowl was in Seras's lap now. She'd retracted it as soon as she'd heard her master's reply. However she had not rescinded the offer. And so, Alucard reached over and claimed one of the plumper, little veggies for himself. He squished it between all but forgotten molars, and enjoyed the light, slightly sweet juice that squirted onto his tongue. Perhaps there was something to be said for indulging – occasionally – in human foods.

"Not bad," He commented offhandedly, drawing a small smile from Seras.

"Who's that?" he then asked as the scene changed to reveal a blond man standing in the middle of a wooded area, various dead birds scattered all around him.

"That's Ray. The Claw killed his wife too, and just like Van, he's sworn to avenge her... though his methods are even more extreme."

"Ah," Alucard responded as he stared at the man who was visibly trembling with barely constrained rage. The old man before him – an old man with a golden claw for his right hand – launched into a speech, some nonsense about happiness and dreams. Obviously, it was a speech designed to calm the other man, and perhaps even get him to join this 'Claw's' side.

_'Fat chance of that,'_ Alucard thought. If what his fledgling had told him was true then there was no way...

Suddenly, the blond man relaxed, and his left hand – which he'd been squeezing so tightly into a fist that it was leaving a big, red welt in his palm – opened up. "Enough, you've said your peace," Ray replied in a calm tone.

The vampire couldn't believe it. That guy who'd been trembling with rage just a couple seconds ago was actually going to go work with the man who'd killed his wife?! The vampire suddenly lost the small amount of respect he'd been starting to develop for this show. Clearly it was written by idiots.

Alucard was just about to get up off the couch and leave, but then the blond's next words captured his attention once more. "Now, shut up and die!!!"

With that Ray ran to the side, quickly scooped up a fallen gun and took aim. The rather buxomy woman standing in between the two men launched out with her staff, which grew and knocked the gun out of the blond's hand. But that seemed to have been his plan all along, for he quickly grabbed the staff and flung the dark-grey haired woman away from the old man she'd been protecting. "Move," he growled; and then, presented with a clear shot at the Claw, Ray unhooked one of the heels of his boots, flicked it and it transformed into a small pistol. The blond took aim, and fired.

And Alucard grinned. So, Ray's momentary act of apparent contrition had been nothing more than a ploy to get their guards down and present himself with the opportunity to get a clear shot? The psychotic vampire was really starting to like this character... and he'd have to talk to Walter later about having transforming gun heels installed in his own boots. If feasible, they would make such wonderful 'toys'.

The ancient vampire and his young fledgling continued to watch the anime episode through to its conclusion, at which point Seras turned to her master and asked, "So, what did you think of it?"

Alucard shrugged. "Pretty good, I guess. Mildly disappointing, in that after all that the Claw managed to get away, though."

"Well, he is the 'Big Bad', and this episode was only halfway through the series. They couldn't really let him die yet."

"I suppose."

"So... any interest in watching the next one with me?"

"Well, I can think of worse ways to spend a boring night."

Seras smiled and got up to pop in the next DVD in her boxed set. She started it up, and then returned to her master's side. The series intro played, and Seras chanced resting her head on Alucard's shoulder. The master vampire grinned at his fledgling and wrapped a protective arm around her neck, and the two monsters of the night just sat there in silence and enjoyed the show.

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Well, I really shouldn't have written this, since most of the time I spent on this one would've been better devoted to studying for my final. But then, it was one of those little plot bunnies I couldn't get out of my head. Anyway, hope you enjoyed.

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.


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